Around The Nation, World: 17 suspected militants arrested in Europe

Posted: Wednesday, June 09, 2004

The Associated Press

ROME - In a coordinated strike across Europe, police arrested 17 suspected Islamic militants, including an alleged mastermind of the Madrid train bombings who authorities say was planning further attacks, officials said Tuesday.

Italian police picked up two suspects, including a 33-year-old Egyptian described as the ringleader who allegedly helped plan the March 11 attacks in Madrid that killed 191 people.

Car bombers kill 15

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Car bombers blasted targets in two Iraqi cities Tuesday, killing 15 people - including a U.S. soldier - and wounding 50. Six European soldiers died when munitions they were transporting exploded south of Baghdad.

The Europeans - two Poles, three Slovaks and a Latvian - were killed in Suwayrah, 25 miles south of Baghdad. The deaths were the first fatalities for Slovakian and Latvian forces in Iraq, Polish army spokesman Col. Zdzislaw Gnatowski said.

Poland has lost six troops in Iraq. "This does not make our presence and mission in Iraq easy," Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka said. "But we cannot talk of any reaction in terms of the length of our mission."

Israeli helicopters carry out strike in Gaza City

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli helicopters fired three missiles at a metal workshop next to an office building in Gaza City late Tuesday, sparking a fire and wounding two people, residents said.

They said the target was a workshop alongside a Hamas office near the Shati refugee camp. The two people were treated for minor injuries.

The Israeli military said the target was "a factory used by the Hamas to house arms and ammunition that Hamas used to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians."

Earlier Tuesday, Palestinians fired a rocket from Gaza at the nearby Israeli city of Sderot. Five Israelis were treated for shock, the military said.

American worker killed in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - An American who worked for a U.S. defense contractor was shot and killed Tuesday in the Saudi capital, the second deadly shooting of a Westerner in the kingdom in three days.

An unknown assailant killed the man in his home, said a spokesman for Vinnell Corp., based in Fairfax, Va. "He was found by another employee at his apartment and taken to a hospital, but did not survive," said the spokesman, Jay McCaffrey.

The victim was identified as Robert C. Jacobs, 62, of Murphysboro, Ill., a seven-year employee of Vinnell, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corp., said Northrop spokeswoman Janis Lamar.

Also of note:

Terrorist Students: In Winder, Ga., two middle school students accused of plotting a Columbine-style killing spree were found guilty Tuesday of making terroristic threats, but cleared of the more serious charge of conspiring to kill a teacher.